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NUTRITION IN PREGNANCY
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Nutrition is the intake of food necessary for optimal health.

Choices regarding maternal nutrition and lifestyle affect maternal and child health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that women develop healthy dietary behaviors prior, during and after their pregnancy for optimal maternal and infant health outcomes.

The goal of prenatal nutrition is to provide for the optimal development of the fetus and to support maternal health.

Nutrition%20in%20pregnancy Signs and Symptoms

Introduction

  • Nutrition is the intake of food necessary for optimal health
    • Good nutrition is a well-balanced diet that contains all essential nutrients in optimal amounts while poor nutrition either lacks or has excess nutrients
    • Malnutrition (poor nutrition) can result from insufficient intake of macronutrients eg protein and calories (undernutrition) or from insufficient intake or increased losses of vitamins and minerals (micronutrient malnutrition) due to an unbalanced diet
      • Can also result from overconsumption of non-nutritive calories (overnutrition) or underconsumption of nutrient-rich food
  •  Choices regarding maternal nutrition and lifestyle affect maternal and child health
    • The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that women develop healthy dietary behaviors prior, during and after their pregnancy for optimal maternal and infant health outcomes
    • A pregnant woman’s dietary behavior can influence the development of fetal organs early in pregnancy and fetal growth and brain development later in pregnancy
  • The goal of prenatal nutrition is to provide for the optimal development of the fetus and to support maternal health
  • A healthy pregnancy outcome is brought about by consumption of a healthy and balanced diet with safe food handling, supplementation with the proper vitamins and minerals, appropriate physical activity and weight gain during pregnancy, and avoidance of alcohol and other harmful substances
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